The countdown begins for the opening night of the 2017 Belfast International Arts Festival, with only 4 days to go until the first performance.

The annual celebration of international contemporary arts is the highlight of the cultural year in Belfast and this year see 191 events over 23 days from 14 countries including 12 premiers.

A UK and Irish premier in the Lyric Theatre opens the festival on Friday 6 October, Compassion: The History of the Machine Gun, from the acclaimed Schaubuhne Berlin and director Milo Rau – named ‘the most controversial director of his time’ by Der Freitag.

Does Compassion have limits?

Rau never backs away from contentious topics and this play is no different.  Compassion takes the audience on a journey to the political hotspots of our time.

The semi-documentary double-monologue, based on interviews with NGO workers, clerics and war victims in Africa and Europe, deliberately ventures into contradictory terrain: how do we endure the misery of others and why do we watch it.

Compassion is in German and French with English surtitles.

Belfast International Arts Festival Director, Richard Wakely, is pleased to welcome the Schaubuhne back to Belfast.

“Many festival goers will recall the last visit by Berlin’s Schaubuhne Theatre in 2014 with their radical and exciting reworking of An Enemy of the People. We are absolutely thrilled that they are returning to open this year’s festival edition with the UK/Ireland premiere of Compassion: The History of the Machine Gun, a new play from Milo Rau, a major and often controversial voice in European theatre.”

The principal funder of the Belfast International Arts Festival is the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Noirin McKinney, Director of Arts Development, added,

“The Arts Council is delighted to see Schaubühne Berlin returning to the Belfast International Arts Festival following their critically-acclaimed production of, An Enemy of the People, at the Festival in 2014.  This current production, a UK and Irish premiere, will continue to push the boundaries of theatre, excite and challenge audiences, and it’s all made possible through public and National Lottery funding.”

Further information on all of the 191 events and how to book your tickets for these can be found at www.belfastinternationalartsfestival.com.  Tickets can also be booked in person at the festival box office in The MAC or by the phone on 028 9089 2707.

Regular updates can be found on the Belfast International Arts Festival Facebook page or at @BelfastFestival on Twitter.

The award-winning Giant’s Causeway will open its doors on Saturday 7 October offering the local community the opportunity to enjoy the full visitor experience, free of charge to thank them for their ongoing support over the busy summer season.

Visitors to the hotel on Friday 6 October can also enjoy live music, children’s entertainment and complimentary drinks and locally produced food between 7-9pm.

The Community Day will enable visitors to enjoy a guided walk, led by a visitor experience ranger; avail of an audio guide if visitors would prefer to explore the Causeway on their own; hop on the Translink shuttle bus to and from the Causeway and access the Visitor’s Centre where there will be free face-painting from 11am to 5pm.

As part of the celebrations, the Northern Ireland Potato Festival will also be hosted in the Causeway Hotel carpark with entertainment, food and drinks and celebrations within the hotel.  Organised by a local voluntary group, the annual potato event celebrates not only the humble potato but the Causeway’s link to potato-breeder John Clark OBE, who lived and worked at Innisfree Farm. The Farm had a Blue Plaque erected to mark the significance of John Clark’s work in 2013 and the farmhouse is now the base for the Giant’s Causeway administrative offices.

Speaking ahead of the community open day, site manager, Alastair Walker said: ‘Since opening the new Visitor Centre in 2012 we have held community open days twice a year. These days allow all visitors to come and enjoy the full visitor experience with no admission charge – we want people to understand and appreciate the importance of nature, to engage with nature more and it is our job is to help increase access to nature for everyone – forever.

“We are also delighted to once again be hosting our autumn open day in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Potato Festival, offering visitors the opportunity to enjoy a wide range of fun and educational activities. The National Trust’s conservation ranger team at the Giant’s Causeway work with the local community to continue to plant and grow potatoes at Innisfree Farm every year, supporting the area’s agricultural heritage.’

The staff look forward to welcoming families and community members to the weekend events which are a way of thanking the community for their ongoing support and reminding them of the all that the Giant’s Causeway and the Causeway Hotel have to offer.

The Community Open day runs on Saturday 7 October only – the last free admission is at 5pm and the centre closes at 6pm.  Usual admission charges will apply from Sunday 8 October, with National Trust members and under 5’s free of charge throughout the year.

How do you truly immerse the audience in a story? How do you tell the horrifying story of people buried in Syrian gardens?

That’s exactly what award-winning creator, Tania El Khoury has achieved with ‘Gardens Speak’ which premiers in Ireland as part of Belfast International Arts Festival.

The interactive sound installation portrays the oral histories of the people buried in Syrian gardens.  Gardens have been the resting place of many who adorned the streets during the Syrian uprising. Narrated by the friends and family of the deceased, the participating audience, glimpse into ten stories which can no longer be told by those who lived them.

Ten participants are literally immersed physically and emotionally in the life and death of 10 ordinary people.  The experience begins in a dark antechamber. Participants remove socks and shoes and enter the cemetery. They then lie down and listen to the voices from beyond the grave.

It may sound bizarre, but the The New York Times’ Charles Isherwoods described it as ‘A stark, moving theatre piece by Tania El Khoury, brings us into painful intimacy with the human cost of the war.’ “The experience was extraordinary, and emotionally wrenching.”  The Guardian review agreed, “Gardens Speak gives the silenced back their voices and provides a gravestone for those whose burial place often has to remain unmarked”-.

World-wide acclaim has continued this week as ‘Garden’s Speak’ has been announced as winner of the 2017 ANTI Festival International Prize for Live Art, in Kuopio, Finland.

El Khoury is an arab-performance maker. Her work consistently confronts western perceptions and narratives of the Arab world, particularly in relation to women.   Khoury has a fascination with oral history and storytelling.  Explaining ‘Garden’s Speak’ she says,

“Audiences quite literally have to dirty their hands to uncover the story and to make an effort to uncover the truth. I like the idea of putting your ear to the ground and hearing the stories that normally go unrecorded and unheard.  These burials are often an act of resistance. Funerals in Syria often lead to more deaths: there have been incidents of the shelling of cemeteries while funerals are taking place, and in some instances before the burial can take place the families are asked to sign documents exonerating the Assad regime of their loved one’s death.”

“I hope that by telling these stories it will remind us that it is human beings involved. During big historic events, it’s the small voices, the individual human voices that get lost. They are the history below, the histories that seldom get told.”

‘Gardens Speak’ runs from the 11^th to the 22^nd October in 12-13 Shaftesbury Square.

Booking tickets for this performance is essential. Bookings can be made online at belfastinternationalartsfestival.com, by calling 028 90892707 or in person at the box office in The MAC .  Follow Belfast International Arts Festival on Facebook and twitter @BelfastFestival for all the latest news.

The boisterous Bruiser Theatre Company are back at Armagh’s Market Place Theatre with the classic favourite ‘The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾’ Hilariously captured in his secret diary, adolescence doesn’t offer much for our Adrian.

His parents’ crumbling marriage, spots and bullies, his unrequited love for Pandora, and the erratic behaviour of his dog – his teenage world is an outrageous triumph of deadpan and deadly accurate satire. ABBA, Princess Di’s wedding, punks, Monty Python, and the Falklands campaign – all the cultural pageantry of a keenly observed era marches past the unique perspective of Sue Townsend’s creation: A. Mole, the unforgettable lad whose self-absorption only gets funnier as his life becomes more desperate. The performance takes place on Saturday 14 October.

On Friday 27 October, Castle Hill Theatre Group will produce Shelagh Stevenson’s, ‘The Memory Of Water’. Three estranged sisters, Teresa, Mary and Catherine, reluctantly return home on the eve of their mother’s funeral. As each sister comes to terms with the reality of the situation, family secrets, memories of the past, and their relationships with each other and their mother open old wounds.

Winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Play 1996, Shelagh Stephenson’s funny, sad and poignant play explores how memories are formed and their effects upon our lives. The sisters soon discover that their mother is not truly gone and plays a part in each of them.

There’s a George Orwell classic set for the stage on 28 October. ‘Down And Out In Paris And London’ tells the tale of a man drifting through life, in 1920’s Paris, scraping by in dead end jobs and generally soaking up the rich underbelly of Parisian life, finds himself falling helplessly short and discovering a very different view of life, looking up from below. With a keen understanding of social inequality and a wry sense of humour, he vividly recounts his experiences while down and out. This powerful performance from Phelim Drew brings Orwell’s classic to the stage with humour, empathy and wit.

Visit the website at www.marketplacearmagh.com for full details and bookings, or contact the Box Office on [028] 3752 1821. And to keep up-to-date with the latest news at the Market Place Theatre, you can follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/marketplacearmagh) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/mptarmagh) where you will find all the latest information, special offers and video previews.

A magical new production by Cahoots NI is coming to Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre on Wednesday 4^th October at 11.30am.

The Assistant’s Revenge will spark intrigue and wonder into the heart of the Roe Valley Arts Centre audiences with music, glamour, magic, and death-defying escapology.

The production follows Sam Sullivan, a small-time Private Eye whose investigations lead him to meet a strange travelling show at the edge of town. Sullivan is plunged into a world of danger and deceit in a case with more twists and turns than a ten inch corkscrew.

Cahoots NI create inspiring performances for children and adults using physical theatre, circus, music, digital technology and special effects, combined with the age-old popularity of magic and illusion.

Students of theatre, school groups and the young-at-heart will be immersed in a morning of wonder and magic; this is theatre that will leave audiences spell bound. Following the hour-long performance, a question and answer session will take place – perfect for all those curious minds in the audience.

Group discounts are available when purchasing tickets. To find out more, please contact Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre on 028 7776 0650 or visit www.roevalleyarts.com.

Oktoberfest Belfast returns to the King’s Hall Complex tomorrow! Backed by renowned brewery, Paulaner, this year’s Oktoberfest will be a fantastic event that brings an authentic slice of German festivities to Belfast.

There will be a full range of beers to meet your palate, including Paulaner Oktoberfest Lager which is brewed specifically for the Munich Beer Festival. Food and beer will also be served by staff in Bavarian costumes. As is tradition in Bavaria the beer will be served in 1 litre steins.

Oktoberfest Belfast has been running since 2008 and now welcomes over 10,000 attendees who come together to celebrate everything German. It creates an atmosphere like no other with food, music and competitions. The event will run each Friday and Saturday night for four weekends until the 21^st October.

On Thursday 5^th October, Oktoberfest will welcome Northern Ireland and Germany fans with a special evening of football fanfare including a large screen showing of the match. Both sets of fans are encouraged to sit together in the bringing together of the cultures, with football shirts permitted. Doors for this special night open at 2pm and will be free for attendees.

This Friday the 29^th September will be free for all attendees, with entry for other nights at £4 per person. Attendees dressed in traditional Bavarian costume over the course of the four weeks also get free entry. Table bookings for 8 people and above are available for a discounted rate, to book check out the Oktoberfest Belfast website at www.oktoberfestbelfast.com.

Prost!